Find the right people....

[JKalchik]

Okay, that can describe a lot of the folks 'round these here parts....

We live in a tiny little burg of about 4,000 people. We are fortunate enough to have some good folks here in town, but you do have to know where to look. One of the things that I really like is that we have a brewery/taproom that makes very tasty beer, and there's some really good folks behind it. 2 weeks ago, the master brewer (one of the founders/owners,) found out he had a locked up peristaltic pump, and with assistance from the brewery vendor, chased it back to a seized bearing. The vendor (okay, really a systems integrator) isn't able to just sell the bearing, all they can get is the whole pump assembly that bolts on the end of the motor. Seems kind of a waste to replace the housing, the rotor, the rollers, etc., when it's really only the bearing that's shot. He's been trying to chase this since then. "Have you gone a couple of blocks over to <elided> Electric Motor?" "No. Didn't know they existed. Think they'll have this?" "If they don't have it on the shelf, they'll know where to get it."

This morning, I stopped in to the motor shop. They recognized the bearing immediately, but didn't have the bearing with the right bore size.. I'll have 4 replacements by Thursday, for about 5% each of what a replacement pump assembly runs. Best part about this is that the office guy (owner, I think,) just scribbled the bearing number with my name & phone number on a scratch pad.

I really like working with small shops like this.

 

[Richard in NS]

Same here J. The first grill I fixed up cost me over $15 at the big box store for SS nuts, bolt washers etc. Went to the local Shop next time and showed the guy what I wanted for two grills. He rummaged around out back and came out with a handful of the stuff and dropped it in my hand. I asked how much and he looked at it and said five bucks. More than twice the amount of stuff than the first time, no barcodes, no receipt, no hassle, just a Happy customer Walking out the door.

 

[JKalchik]

Now that this has come back around again on the guitar, I found out a little more last night. Turns out the brewer's father-in-law went to what I thought was a big bearing warehouse in the Twin Cities metro area, and got more or less a blank stare when he handed them the bearing.

Bearing delivery here did take a little longer than expected/hoped, but I do have 4 bearings in hand, for less than $40 delivered. And he's going to have parts to do this again on the shelf. I've put the roller assembly back together, and will take the stuff down in an hour or so, and have a tasty beverage.

The local guys really did come through like gangbusters.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

Kalamazoo used to have a lot more of that but, the small places are slowly fading into the ash. Hoekstra’s, the hardware store that I shopped in with my father when I was maybe 8-9 closed last year (pre Covid) and, I was terribly sad about that. That store is where I first learned about the marvelous company called “Weber”! It still makes me sad to think about the hours I spent in there, five minutes at a time, maybe only spending a quarter for a couple of bolts.
It leaves only one place that still sells nails from a bin by the pound, will sell one bolt or nut and help you find the actual replacement part that the box store will only sell in the blister pack of four for an inflated price. Small town America used to be bigger, time changes everything.

 

[Richard in NS]

Kalamazoo used to have a lot more of that but, the small places are slowly fading into the ash. Hoekstra’s, the hardware store that I shopped in with my father when I was maybe 8-9 closed last year (pre Covid) and, I was terribly sad about that. That store is where I first learned about the marvelous company called “Weber”! It still makes me sad to think about the hours I spent in there, five minutes at a time, maybe only spending a quarter for a couple of bolts.
It leaves only one place that still sells nails from a bin by the pound, will sell one bolt or nut and help you find the actual replacement part that the box store will only sell in the blister pack of four for an inflated price. Small town America used to be bigger, time changes everything.

I hear you Timothy. The small village I live in still has a hardware store where you can buy nails and screws by the pound. It is the only place left that I know of. And no fancy scale. Just the old one where you drop the nails in the oval metal scoop and slide the weight along the bar until it balances to find the weight. I will miss it when it is gone.